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Tom Chicca, in our Rockville office, has been a member of the Baltimore Washington Ride for Kids Task Force for ten years. Currently, Tom is serving as the Task Force Leader. This Task Force spends the year planning and organizing this one day event. They also work with individuals, clubs, and dealers to encourage fundraising. This annual event raises money for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF). The PBTF is the largest non-governmental source of funding for research, treatment, and family support for children with brain tumors.On Sunday, September 25, 2016, the 25th Annual Baltimore Washington Ride for Kids was held at Turf Valley Resort. The weather was perfect and there was a great turnout. Over the past 24 years, this Baltimore Washington Ride event has raised $3,641,730. This year’s event raised over $79,000 for the Foundation. There were over 230 participants and volunteers. We were fortunate to have five “Stars” and their families attend the event. The Stars are pediatric brain tumor survivors. One of our Stars was Ms. Gretchen Stenger, Miss Appalachia’s Outstanding Teen for 2016 and a brain tumor survivor since she was five years old. All of our Stars and their families were delighted to be there and a delight to be around.

Nearly 50 individuals from our staff, including field operations, GIS specialists, landscape architects, engineers and project managers, participated in a program to study the techniques, the technology, and the best approach for urban retrofit for stormwater management and water quality. Soltesz is fortunate to have been a major partner in the Prince George’s County Clean Water Partnership, which is a $100,000,000 program retrofitting 2,000 acres of impervious area within the county. This is the largest urban retrofit program in the United States and Soltesz is the lead design firm.Over the past 13 months, Soltesz has designed nearly 1,000 environmental site design features which have been retrofitted to hundreds of sites throughout Prince George’s County. We appreciate the partnership that we have formed with Prince George’s County and Corvias Solutions. Soltesz is a top engineering firm serving Maryland and the surrounding DC Metropolitan Region for over 35 years. The firm provides site and civil design, environmental sciences, landscape architecture, and surveying services from six offices throughout the region.For more information on Soltesz’s efforts as part of the Clean Water Partnership, contact Ken Dunn, Managing Member, at kdunn@solteszco.com or 301.794.7555.

State and county officials and industry experts gathered at the University of Maryland College Park for a roundtable discussion titled, “The Clean Water Partnership: A Success Story of Community Collaboration.” The workshop highlighted the success of the Prince George's County Clean Water Partnership, including best practices and lessons learned. The Clean Water Partnership was established by the County to address regulatory stormwater requirements, with a goal of providing treatment for 2,000 acres of impervious surface within the County over a two-year timeframe. The project is a nationwide model by which other jurisdictions may follow to cost-effectively address their federal and state water quality mandates. As such, the discussion focused on the dynamics of the partnership between public and private entities.Ben Grumbles, Maryland Secretary of the Environment provided the opening address at the event. Adam Ortiz, Director for the Department of the Environment for Prince George's County, was a speaker. Soltesz is very proud to be playing a major role in the success of the NPDES MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) goals of the county. Serving as design engineer, Soltesz has coordinated engineering services in support of the Clean Water Partnership, providing innovative design efforts to accommodate the needs of the project.For more information on Soltesz’s efforts as part of the Clean Water Partnership, contact Ken Dunn, Managing Member, at kdunn@solteszco.com or 301.794.7555.

Joan Meiselman has accepted the position of WSSC (Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission) Liaison Committee Vice Chair as part of her involvement with MBIA (Maryland Building Industry Association). As noted on MBIA’s website, the WSSC Liaison Committee “meets monthly to discuss general submissions, review times and procedures for development-related issues.”Joan is a Senior Water & Sewer Designer in Soltesz’s Rockville office with over 35 years of industry experience and an active member of MBIA. Soltesz provides civil engineering, environmental sciences, landscape architecture, and surveying services throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area.

The Soltesz Rockville office held their 12th Annual Parking Lot BBQ this week, complete with an array of grilled food, potluck side dishes, and desserts. With much contribution and participation from employees, the Rockville picnic was a great success and enjoyed by everyone. Other Soltesz offices are sponsoring a Crab Fest and Pig Roast later this month for their local employees.The Annual Picnics are just one of the ways Soltesz shows appreciation to its employees, providing the opportunity for casual team building and enjoyment. Soltesz also hosts annual chili cook-offs, raffles to local sporting events, holiday parties, sponsored participation to local industry association events, and the annual company party.For more information on employee benefits and opportunities, contact Kris Pettit, Director of Human Resources, at kpettit@solteszco.com or 301.948.2750. Job postings are also available online at www.solteszco.com/careers.

To show appreciation and usher in the unofficial start of Fall, all Soltesz employees have been gifted custom embroidered messenger bags for their use and enjoyment. The bags were provided by the firm to all employees the Tuesday following Labor Day. Accompanying the bags was a quarterly company update, highlighting the firm’s robust project activity, employee news and accomplishments, and company-wide recognitions.Soltesz is looking forward to busy and robust Fall season and is highly appreciative of every employee’s contribution to the firm. The firm takes pride in its employees and takes initiatives throughout the year to encourage collaboration, teambuilding, professional development, and appreciation. In addition to the firm’s highly effective Employee Professional Development and Training Program, Soltesz sponsors annual picnics, holiday parties, raffles, and celebrations throughout the year.For more information about Soltesz’s employee initiatives or to inquire about current job openings, contact Kris Pettit, Director of Human Resources, at 301.948.2750 or kpettit@solteszco.com.

The annual Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) Summer Conference was estimated to attract 2,000 participants this week at the Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, Maryland. This year’s conference, “Cyber Solutions: Counties in the Digital Age,” focused on how county governments can address the newest technological trends, including telecommuting, e-commerce, and financial data security.With over 200 exhibitors and 20 educational sessions, the conference provided a strong opportunity for partnership-building and learning. Soltesz exhibited at the conference, meeting with county and state elected officials, local government representatives, legislatures, and industry colleagues. The conference provided the opportunity for Soltesz to showcase the firm’s work throughout the state, most notably with stormwater management design efforts in collaboration with local municipalities as well as large private development projects expected to serve as economic drivers to the region.Representing Soltesz at the conference were Jim Soltesz, PE, President & CEO; Tom Chicca, PE, Vice President & General Manager; and Phil Isaja, Senior Associate and Project Manager.Soltesz is a top engineering firm serving Maryland and the surrounding DC Metropolitan Region for over 35 years. The firm provides site and civil design, environmental sciences, landscape architecture, and surveying services from six offices throughout the region.

Soltesz was a proud exhibitor at the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) Summer Conference at the Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, Maryland.As noted by MACo, this year’s conference attracted nearly 2,000 participants, including county and state elected officials, local government professionals, legislators, and commercial representatives. The conference featured over 230 exhibitors and 25 educational sessions, providing strong opportunity for partnership-building and learning. The conference provided the opportunity for Soltesz to showcase the firm’s work throughout the state, most notably with stormwater management facilities and power grid cyber security facilities. Soltesz is uniquely qualified to address stormwater management and water quality treatment concerns for a multitude of clients. Throughout the firm’s presence at the conference, Soltesz team members reaffirmed existing connections with delegates and professional staff, while reaching out and sharing thoughts on potential future endeavors and working opportunities with both the public and private sectors.Representing Soltesz at the conference were Jim Soltesz, President & CEO, Tom Chicca, Vice President & General Manager, Ed Carroll, Vice President & Director of Environmental Engineering, and Sarah Taylor, Marketing Manager. Pictured above center: The Soltesz Team with Ike Leggett, MACO President and County Executive for Montgomery County.

In response to the dire needs of the victims of the devastating fire at the Flower Branch Apartments in Silver Spring last week, Soltesz and its employees have made a donation totaling over $500 to the relief efforts. Jim Soltesz, President & CEO, generously matched the total of all Soltesz employee monetary donations for this worthy cause. Combined contributions were donated on behalf of the Rockville and Corporate employees and Soltesz to Long Branch Fire, with 100% of the donations going to the victims.Many thanks to everyone at Soltesz for their voluntary donations and support.Soltesz is committed to supporting the local communities for which it serves. For more information about Soltesz’s philanthropic efforts within the local community, visit: http://solteszco.com/inside-soltesz/community-involvement.

Ken Dunn, Managing Manager of Soltesz’s Lanham office, provided remarks at the retirement dinner for Fern Piret, Director of Planning at the Prince George’s County Planning Department, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC). Dr. Piret had a long and successful career with Prince George’s Council and worked with Soltesz on many projects throughout her 26-year tenure with the agency.Soltesz will miss Dr. Piret and her support, advice and guidance which we appreciated for many years.